Thursday’s With Raider: Disillusionment
Raider Thoughts
Well, this past week gave us a pound of flesh to symbolically consume, so I feel as though I must get some things posted on the internet and just to warn you ahead of time, this is going to go in several directions, so bare with me.
I’m becoming very disillusioned with this rivalry. After the display of football we witnessed last Friday in Logan, I had no hopes of anything resembling 54-10 of last year. Besides, I work more now, the Giants are about a week away from clinching the NL West and I’m dating a girl originally from Newport Beach. So a Zoob overcompensating in front of me just isn’t a priority.
But I did have a chance to read your postgame entry and I will add the following:
–Do you remember sitting in the seat next to me at the 06 Holy War and making the comment: “here’s the officials intervening on BYU’s behalf”? Sure enough, the plays that were formally under review that went BYU’s way made me think of that. Was it as bad on television as it was at the game, because I was getting annoyed.
–Understand that it’s some weird hallmark of Ute fandom to have this contrarian outlook on complaining about the refs. I mean, since BYU fans do it, that must mean we should do the opposite or something. Whatever. It reminded me of an old postgame meltdown the Jerry Sloan of the NHL, Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff once had. “Its an embarrassment that we were done in by a cheap shot by (Toronto Maple Leaf Darcy) Tucker. That’s a joke! That’s an absolute joke! I want him fined, I want him suspended…”
(My feelings on the NHL lockout can’t be printed on a family blog.)
–As you know, I am agnostic when it comes to karma, but there was such a retribution with the Y’s second chance to send it to overtime hitting the left upright. Particularly the Doink game in 98. That made me smile a little on the inside.
–I have to admit that “cadence mimicking” was my biggest complaint of the Tennessee Titans of a decade ago and specifically Javon Kearse. Many people thought I was out of my mind and they were right, just not for that reason.
–Maybe this is a sign I’m getting old, but I stayed off the field Saturday. Its the quickest way to get out of RES sometimes, but I just didn’t care to celebrate beating a team that I hope whithers on the vine.
While I’m at it, I am going to address the first two weeks of the Raiders 2012 campaign, because my Raider hangouts on the interwebs are all mad because of how bad we looked today and against the Chargers. Look, I know a lot of our fans don’t enjoy the concept of rebuilding–which is what this really is–but I’m going to wait until 2016 to have any sort of anger toward the current staff. Good thing I stopped drinking…
And why do I all of the sudden have the feeling that ASU might be a winnable game?
MAC Thoughts
I hate playing the officiating card but it sure as hell is A LOT easier to do after a win. First someone found an officiating memo stating that in situations like at the end where something like that or an unsportsmanlike conduct happens, if game play wasn’t affected, officials are supposed to use their discretion and call a dead ball foul.
Second, a couple of people had some nice stills that show Bronco himself well onto the field and within 5 yards of the play. Between that and a whole slew of personal fouls that didn’t seem so personal fouley, well I’m troubled.
As for the rivalry, I think it could use a couple of years off. The annual you guys are classless nonsense is tiring. Plus Suspenders Guy who I’m not going to post the video of so he doesn’t get more play, and well, it all needs a break. Although Cadence Mimicking is my new favorite excuse.
As for the rest of the sports world. I’m liking what I see from Mr. Manning, even after the bad game in the ATL. It looks like the Angels woke up just a little late to get back into everything. Although I feel the A’s should be banned from postseason play just so we aren’t forced to watch them lose. I like your long view of the Raiders. A foundation must be built.
And since I’ll have no dog in the baseball playoff fight, I offer you a hearty GO GIANTS.
This Weeks Games
Raider Thoughts
Oregon St. v. UCLA
For further discussion, I simply must ask you and your readers this question: just how good is UCLA? For that matter, should that game in a few weeks concern me more than the USC game? Those of us who walked out of RES last Saturday after finding out that USC lost may have had that feeling in their heads that “oh, boy, we have a shot at the South now!” Well, in theory yes, but if you’re the Bruins, how do you not like your chances to win the South sans SC probation?
(By the way, for you Ute fans on Twitter looking for other Pac 12 fans to follow, give a follow to my UCLA friend @coasterfreek. Let me put it to you this way: if you clutter up my timeline with Lakers and Dodgers re-tweets and I still recommend a follow, you know you have a good egg on your hands.)
MAC Thoughts
As for how good UCLA is, well if you ask the guys at Go Joe Bruin my baby sister blog here on the Fansided Network, they’re talking national title. I’m just not sure. I’d like something a little more concrete. And considering they have Oregon St. and then Colorado, that something more concrete is us…
Colorado v. Wazzu
Raider Thoughts
Often, I like to watch games that nobody else in their right mind would watch. This should surprise no one, since as a Golden State Warriors fan, I’m used to this. But man alive, this is what we all get for believing that Wazzu didn’t have that far to go to become competitive again. Furthermore, Colorado looking this bad this early makes last year’s loss to them sting so much more, does it not?
Mac Thoughts
First, I have no damn idea what Leach was thinking not starting Connor Halliday. With him under center, they might suck slightly less but no they won’t be good. And since I have a connection to the Colorado staff, I had higher hopes. But the thing Utah has to fix is coming out flat against bad teams. I mean CU was inexcusable and USU has made what happened last week only slightly less excusable. In fact what happened last year, becomes more and more puzzling.
Cal v. USC
Raider Thoughts
This paragraph is the one where I get to smile with confidence as I say that I was absolutely right when I said before the season began that the Trojans would lose a game that they shouldn’t. Now, the team I guessed it would occur to was wrong (I guessed Arizona, it ended up being Stanford), but now this opens up a whole host of things. First, it probably means that Oregon has the best shot of going to the Rose Bowl if not something even bigger, and that we now get to ponder the possibility of an LSU/Alabama title game…again.
I’ve heard this before and for the purposes of this writing I am paraphrasing a few other people, but what is the template from various media that covers college football nowadays? What you do in your own conference doesn’t matter because you’re not in the SEC. Forgive me for sounding like an old person, but what balderdash! Since I’m in a predicting kind of mood, I will predict that at some point in the not too distant future, the SEC is going to lose a title game in an odd fashion. Which school and from which conference, I have no idea. (If the Big 10 didn’t have a whole bunch of programs that are a hot mess, I’d go that route). But this will happen and on this day, the vast majority of college football fandom will mockingly chant “SEC! SEC! SEC!” I look forward to that day.
MAC Thoughts
I think what we might be rushing towards is the inevitable explosion of the Lane Kiffin era. How fantastic is a 28 second press conference? Things are going to get harder for USC before they get easier and Kiffin doesn’t strike me as an adversity kind of guy. So things will be interesting.
As for your theory, think back to Cam Newton v Oregon. People act as if Auburn blew out Oregon, but they didn’t. It took that weird non-tackle thing or Oregon is the national champions. Then Bama won one via Colt McCoy being hurt and then we were assured of another SEC title game. The thing is, the powers that be have decided that the SEC champion gets to play for the national championship, meaning they have a 50% shot at winning it all.
It’s all so much crap, it grows tiring. I watch the Rose Bowl damnit, and whatever bowl Utah is in. And God Willing that is the same bowl soon. But I didn’t watch the national title game and if its Bama v LSU I won’t watch it again.
Arizona State v. Utah
Raider Thoughts
Last week, you mentioned that our patchwork offensive line will meet its comeuppance during conference play. Will this be the game where your analysis comes to fruition? I can’t quite get a gauge on ASU either, as they have beaten up on NAU and Illinois and lost to a meh Mizzou team. So this will be as big of a surprise to me as it will be to you. But maybe we won’t have to worry about the offensive line being something we can complain about?
MAC Thoughts
Ok, since I tend to be the eternal optimist or somehow have evolved there about the Utes, I’m feeling slightly better about the O-Line. Now they aren’t great. But if we can roll Jon Hays out, throw quick and get John White back, well, I’m saying there’s a chance.
As for this game, I still don’t know what to expect. Mizzou is OK and they handled ASU. The Sun Devils looked good against NAU and Illinois but those teams are very bad. This team eliminates someone from the Pac-12 south race, and I’m just not ready to say its us.
Arizona v. Oregon
Raider Thoughts
Concerning what I wrote above in the USC portion of my weekly discussion, why do I get the feeling that a) Oregon will run the table and b) because they don’t play in the SEC, thereby negating the victories in their own conference, they will get jettisoned out of the title game because, well, Alabama and LSU are the only two teams we should concern ourselves with and everyone else is simply tailgating and selling tickets. Surely, this can be a cause you and I and all parties can unite behind. Together, we can put a stop to the mentality of the SEC. I’m RaiderUte and I approve this message.
MAC Thoughts
Yes I love the annual explanation about how Tennessee doesn’t really suck and would win every other conference in the land. Remember when a really bad Wyoming team went to Knoxville and beat Rocky Top?
As for Oregon, the Pac-12 North is there and the title game is returning to Autzen, we might as well book it now. You have to wonder, whomever loses between Bama and LSU if they’ll even drop below Oregon the way things are done.
The problem with the SEC mentality is that the Worldwide Leader is the one making it happen. And second those southern media voters stick together, voting as a block in the polls. Get just a few others from each region sipping the SEC Kool Aid which tastes like Sweet Tea, and well you have what we have.
Imagine the screams from the south if the SEC got left out of a title game?